The Unfortunate Truth: Firearms Aren’t Needed To Commit Acts Of Evil

What’s left of the Kyoto Animation Co. building after the arson attack. Image courtesy of AP News

Early Thursday morning, a man set fire to a Japanese animation studio, killing 33 and injuring at least 35. Kyoto Animation Co. had received threatening emails in the past to “die” and while the emails were reported to the authorities, it looks like man was still free until

The man reportedly entered the building on July 18, screamed, “You die!” then released an unknown liquid which started the fire that quickly spread. Multiple bodies were found on the first, second and third floors as well as the stairwells. It appeared that these people were trying to escape to the roof but couldn’t make it.

I don’t want to politicize this tragedy but the unfortunate truth is that evil exists everywhere, and they will use whatever tools available to do their malicious deeds. Sadly, this is not the first time that an atrocity was committed without firearms.

In 2016, a Tunisian-born man named Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel drove a 19-ton truck into a huge crowd of people celebrating a holiday known as Bastille Day. A total of 85 people were killed and 450+ were injured.

China suffered a mass knife attack in 2014, where 33 people were killed and 140 were injured. It was perpetrated and planned by a group of people armed with only knives. They took out their knives and just starting slashing and stabbing people at random.

Graphic image of the stabbing that took place in China. Image courtesy of South China Morning Post

Over 500 Christians were massacred with machetes in Nigeria in 2010, where not even babies were spared. Body parts were hacked off people, and there were reports of people being scalped. Not exactly the behavior of mentally-sound people.

Probably the most infamous mass tragedy that occurred recently was 9/11, where over 3,000 Americans died directly and indirectly from terrorists using airplanes to attack our country. To this day, some Americans are still suffering from the effects of the attack, whether it’s PTSD or chronic illnesses stemming from the toxic rubble.

Freedom Tower, a shining beacon of hope, built after one of the worst terrorist attacks in history. Image courtesy of Heli NY

Gun control advocates can blame guns all they want, but the root of the problem is the disregard for the sanctity of life and mental illnesses running rampant, unchecked. Firearms are just inanimate tools, it’s up to the wielder to decide how that tool is used. Like the old saying goes, “guns don’t kill people, people kill people.”